In all likelihood, the election in Telangana will be held in November or December this year itself along with four other states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Mizoram. The Election Commission has expressed satisfaction of the poll-preparedness of Telangana so that it could be clubbed with the other states in this phase.

Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat had discussed the issue at a meeting held in Delhi and a decision has been taken to on this issue already. However, the EC will send another team of officials to Telangana soon to take a closer look at the status of voter lists and preparedness of the administration before taking a final call. After finalising its views on Telangana, the EC is expected to announce dates of polling for the five states.

If there are any discrepancies found in electoral rolls and arrangements, there is a chance that EC would wait for some more time. Under any circumstances, the elections in these states will be held before the end of January, 2019. The whole effort of EC is apparently aimed at avoiding any controversies that may arise over impact of results if there is a short gap of one or two months between separately-held elections in Telangana and other states.

TRS, which has opted to go for early polls, is giving an impression that the election machinery in Telangana is fully prepared. However, there is the pressing issue of merging the seven mandals in Khammam district in Telangana into neighbouring assembly segments in AP. Delimitation of the assembly constituencies will have to be taken up for these mandals and this has to be fulfilled prior to the release of election schedule so as to leave no scope for rival parties to make it a bigger issue with legal repercussions.